Welcome to the Real World

Yesterday (Thursday) morning, my boss asked me to look up an article that she had seen in the Philadelphia Inquirer about Philadelphia being the largest poor city in the country. I thought nothing of the article when I found it and sent the link to her. Due to my sleep deprivation, I am unable to come across the blog post at the moment, but a personal experience that caused said sleep deprivation made me very much aware of the socioeconomic inequalities that continue to plague this city. In a town where only 18% of adults hold degrees from four-year colleges or universities and the poverty rate stands at 25%, there is clearly much to be done to address inequality constructively. Sadly, I was part of a nonconstructive outburst reflective of these disparities.

Two weeks ago, I bought a new phone. My old one finally bit the dust, and, in a burst of upgrading glee, I secured a new iPhone for myself. I spent a little time tinkering with it, but mostly was just happy to have a phone after several weeks without one. Last night, while walking home, I called my uncle to catch up. In the middle of our phone conversation, my phone was ripped from my ear by someone who then proceeded to run off with it while I chased him, screamed, and incited others to tackle him. This was followed by an hour circling through Center City in a cop car and two hours at the police precinct. Suffice it to say, my phone was not found and I am back at square one in terms of mobile communication, albeit without the several hundred dollars I had to spend to upgrade to my now lost phone.

The very nice policemen who helped me told me that this happens all the time in Philadelphia- people will be using or talking on smart phones, and someone will come along, grab it, and run off with it. I spent the majority of the evening bawling, largely due to the shock of the experience. It's disorienting and slightly scary to have something ripped from you, and it's equally disorienting realizing that you've just lost something that you'll never get back (but still had to pay for). It's saddening to realize that I live in a city where this is a common occurrence, but the statistics certainly explain the behavior, even if they don't justify it. I would love to be in a city where everyone had equal access to various opportunities; hell, I would love to live in a country where that would be the case. But the sad reality is that we live in an incredibly unequal society, and random occurrences like my being robbed reflect these persistent inequalities. The bigger bummer is that I am now out a lot of money for what was ultimately nothing, whereas other people might be able to cover the cost of the theft of their smart phones more painlessly.

To whomever ends up with my (now cancelled) phone: I hope you got what you wanted.